Tiltable glass cutter{40 s table with retractable sheet supporting pegs

ABSTRACT

A power actuated tiltable plate glass cutter&#39;&#39;s table is shown in my U.S. Pat. No. 3,570,733, which is power tiltable between a steeply inclined position in which a heavy sheet of glass is received on said table with the sheet supported on a plurality of pegs provided at the lower edge of the table and a horizontal position in which said sheet is supported by an air floatation system permitting it to be readily shifted horizontally, said table also having a breaker bar mechanism for breaking said sheet into pieces of various size while said sheet rests on the air cushion between it and said table. Mechanism manually operable from a control station at one end of the table, is provided by the present invention for simultaneously retracting said pegs below the surface of said table after the latter has been tilted to horizontal position and said pegs are no longer required for supporring said sheet of glass, whereby pieces of glass may be readily removed from said table horizontally over the edge of said table equipped with said pegs.

llnite States Patent [191 all Allen 1 TILTABLE GLASS CUTTER '8 TABLEWITH RETRACTABLE SHEET SUPPORTING PEGS [76] Inventor: Byron W. Allen,188 S. 1 St., San Bernardino, Calif.

[22] Filed: Nov. 18, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 200,004

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,458,056 7/1969 Stefan269/55 X 3,458,057 7/1969 Stefan 269/55 x Primary Examiner-Harold D.Whitehead Assistant ExaminerMark S. Bicks Attorney, Agent, or Firm-DanaKeech Jan. 22, 1974 [5 7] ABSTRACT A power actuated tiltable plate glasscutters table is shown in my US. Pat. No. 3,570,733, which is powertiltable between a steeply inclined position in which a heavy sheet ofglass is received on said table with the sheet supported on a pluralityof pegs provided at the lower edge of the table and a horizontalposition in which said sheet is supported by an air floatation systempermitting it to be readily shifted horizontally, said table also havinga breaker bar mechanism for breaking said sheet into pieces of varioussize while said sheet rests on the air cushion between it and saidtable.

Mechanism manually operable from a control station atone end of thetable, is provided by the present invention for simultaneouslyretracting said pegs below the surface of said table after the latterhas been tilted to horizontal position and said pegs are no longerrequired for supporting said sheet of glass, whereby pieces of glass maybe readily removed from said table horizontally over the edge of saidtable equipped with said pegs.

5 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures sum 2 0r 2 PATENTEDJANZZIHM INVENTOR. LE/Vflrrolq/vgsl TILTABLE GLASS CUTTER'S TABLE WITH RETRACTABLE SHEETSUPPORTING PEGS SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In the prior art, the glasssheet supporting pegs aforesaid have been driven into sockets providedtherefor in said table. These pegs were never removed from these socketsexcept when they were damaged and had to be replaced and their presencealong the edge of the table on which they were mounted made it necessaryfor a piece of glass being removed from that edge of the table to be,lifted over these pegs. This necessity increased the labor of removingpieces of glass from the table and it is the primary object of thepresent invention to provide a means for mounting said pegs so they willbe readily retractable beneath the surface of the tiltable table from aremote control station so that when the table is in horizontal positionand a sheet of glass has been reduced in size to a plurality of pieces,the latter may be removed horizontally over the edge of the table inwhich the sheet supporting pegs are mounted without these pegs offeringany obstacle to such removal.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a simple manuallyoperated means for optionally elevating said pegs above the surface ofthe table along the edge of the latter in which said pegs are mounted orretracting said pegs beneath the upper surface of the table.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide, in such a tiltableplate glass cutters table, glass sheet supporting pegs which areautomatically extended above the upper surface of the table when thelatter is steeply inclined for receiving a sheet of glass, and whereinsaid pegs are automatically retracted from such extended positions whenthe table has been'rocked into horizontal position and the weight ofsaid sheet of glass has been transferred from said pegs to said table.

It is a yet further object of the present invention to provide in atiltable plate glass cutters table having sheet glass supporting pegsprovided along the lower edge of said table when the latter is tiltedupwardly which are equipped with means for retracting said pegs beneaththe surface of the table when the latter is disposed horizontally andextending said pegs above said automatic peg retracting and extendingmechanism of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a detailed view on an. enlarged scale of a lower portion ofFIG. 2 and illustrates the structure and mode of mounting of one of thepegs of the invention showing how the lower edge, of a sheet of glasssupported by the invention with the table thereof in upwardly inclinedposition rests directly on a relatively hard rubber pad inlaid in theupper surface of each of the pegs of the invention.

FIG. 8 is a view similar to ,FIG. 4 and illustrates the peg retractingmechanism of the invention manually actuated to retract the pegs of theinvention below-the upper surface of the table there of, this view alsoshowing the automatic means for retracting said pegs disconnected sothat said retracting mechanism responds solely to said manual means.

FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic perspective view of the table of the inventionwith the latter shown in its horizontal position in full lines and inits upwardly inclined position in broken lines and showing the glasssheet supporting pegs of the invention extended in the broken lineposition of the table and retracted in the full line position of thetable.

surface when the table is again tilted upwardly, in i which said meansis optionally operable manually or automatically.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 4 is a horizontal sectional viewtaken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 1, and shows one of the pegs of theinvention in extended position. i

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 5--5 of FIG. 4. i

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 66 of FIG. 5, andillustrates, with FIG. 5, the spring biased DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THEPREFERRED EMBODIMENT The invention is preferably embodied in a poweractuated plate glass cutters table 10 which is rockably mounted on acaster supported chassis 11 and is provided with suitable power means(not shown) for rock ing said table between the two positions thereofshown in FIG. 9.

At its front corners, the chassis 11 is provided with upstanding tubularposts 12 on the upper ends of which are mounted heavy hinges 13 whichpivotally connect the upper ends of said posts to a relatively heavytubular cross beam 14 which is an integral part of the table 10. Crossbeam 14 fits within and is welded at its ends to vertical end members 15of a rectangular frame 16 having top and bottom members 17 and 18. Theposts 12, tubular cross beam 14, vertical members 15, top frame member17, and bottom frame member 18 are all formed of steel tubes the crosssection of which is rectangular. Bolted to the frame 16 so as to extendabout 1 inch'outwardly therefrom is a rectangular table top 19 which ismade up of sheets of plywood or masonite or other board formed ofimpacted wood fiber. The upper surface of table top 19 is covered by asoft pile carpet 20. The table 10 is also equipped with a glass sheetflotation system for delivering air under pressure upwardly throughholes25 formed in the table 10 and thus producing a body of air betweenthe table and a sheet of glass 26 for literally floating said sheet ofglass on the table and rendering it possible to shift said glasshorizontally over the table in any direction by the application of avery small forceto said sheet. Table 10 is also provided with a breaker'bar 27 and suitable means for actuating the same for breaking a sheetof glass 26 along a sbored line brought into alignment with said breakerbar by shifting the sheet of glass after it has become airborne. Thesefeatures are not described in detail as they are clearly disclosed in myprior patent aforesaid.

Formed in the table top 19 and carpet 20 and approximately flush withthe upper surface of bottom frame member 18 are a plurality of alignedslots 28 for accommodating the free movement therein of a like number ofretractable pegs 29 which are rectangular in form and have formedintegrally therewith a short actuating arm 30 which is angled to theleft. Co-extensive with the slots 28 are shallow inverted U-shaped sheetmetal housings 31, the opposite ends of which are welded to the uppersurface of bottom frame member 18 so as to closely confine the pegs 29with said pegs pivotally secured in place within said housings by bolts32 which extend downwardly through suitable apertures in the housings 31and the pegs 29 and screw into suitable tapped holes 33 provided in thebottom frame member 18. The extremities of actuating arms 30 areapertured to receive bolts 34 by which all of the pegs 29 are pivotallyconnected by links 35.

lnlaid within the upper surface of each of the pegs 29 is a relativelyhard but resilient rubber cushion 40 which presents a cushion surface tothe lower edge of the sheet of glass 26 which is supported by the pegs29 when the table is in upwardly inclined position and while it is beingrocked into horizontal position.

Journalling in brackets 41 and 42 welded on the inner face of verticalmember shown in FIG. 1 is a peg control shaft 43, the upper end portionof which is bent at a right angle to form a handle 44 for use inmanually rotating said shaft. A collar 45 on said shaft just beneathsaid handle rests on upper bracket 41 and a bevel gear 46 is rigidlymounted on said shaftjust below said bracket. Welded to shaft 43 justbelow the bracket 42 is an arm 47, the outer end of which is pivotallyconnected to an S-shaped link 48 the opposite end of which is pivotallyconnected to the screw 32 of the actuating arm 30 of the leftwardmost ofthe pegs 29. By the mechanism above described, it is thus evident thatby rotating the shaft 43 by the handle 44 all of the retractable pegs 29may be simultaneously shifted from their extended positions as shown inFIG. 4 to their retracted positions as shown in FIG. 8 and, of course,return said pegs to their extended positions by a reverse rotation ofshaft 43.

The present invention also includes a mechanism 49 for automaticallyaccomplishing the shifting of the pegs 29 between their extended andretracted positions. This mechanism is arranged so that it may bedisconnected so that it is always within the option of the operator asto whether he desires to have the pegs 29 automatically actuated or toretain the shifting of said pegs entirely under manual control.

The mechanism 49 includes a structural steel angle 50 which extendsvertically between cross beam 14 and bottom frame member 18 and iswelded at its opposite ends to said members. Upper bracket 41 has adownwardly extending arm 55 and this arm and angle 50 have horizontallyaligned bores in which a shaft 56 journals, the left end of said shafthaving fixed thereto a bevel gear 57 which meshes with bevel gear 46. Acollar 58 on shaft 56 just outside of'bracket arm 55 prevents endwiscmovement of the shaft 56. Rotatable on the shaft 56 just to the right ofthe angle 50 is the hub 59 of an arm 60, said hub having a slot 61formed therein which is radially aligned with a hole 62 formed in shaft56 so that a pin 63 extended through the slot 61 and driven into saidhole fixes the position of hub 59 on said shaft and allows freedom ofsaid hub to rotate on said shaft for approximately 90 between twopositions in which said hub engages pin 63. The right hand end of shaft56 is provided with left hand threads 64 and a pair of nuts 65 and 66are screwed onto the threads 64. A hole 70 is provided in the arm closeto the hub 59 and a hole 71 is provided in the inner nut 65. A left handcoil spring 72 surrounds shaft 56 between the hub 59 and nut and theopposite ends of this spring are inserted into the holes and 71 so thatby an adjustment of the two nuts 65 and 66 on the shaft 56 a controlleddegree of torque can be applied between the right end of the shaft 56and the arm 60 so as to constantly rotationally bias the hub 59 and theshaft 56 tending to bring the pin 63 into pressural relation with oneend of the slot 61 as shown in FIG. 5.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the lower end of arm 60 pivotally connects toa control latch 75 having a notch 76 which receives a rod 77 weldedhorizontally to the post 12 and then turned upwardly so that latch 75 isslideably received between rod 77 and said post. The latch 75, however,is loosely pivoted to the arm 60 and may readily be lifted over theupwardly extending end portion of rod 77 and dropped downwardly outsideof this so as to merely hang from arm 60 which disconnects the automaticmechanism 49 when, for any reason, it is preferred to depend solely onthe handle 44 for manually retracting and extending the retractable pegs49 of the invention. I

OPERATION FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4 show the control latch 75 hooked over thepivot rod 77 which conditions the automatic mechanism 49 for action.Assuming that the pegs 29 have been retracted either automatically ormanually while the table 10 is horizontal and the latch 75 is hookedover rod 77 as shown in FIG. 3, the pin 63 rests against the rear end ofslot,61 as shown in FIG. 5. It must also be assumed that all glass hasbeen removed from the table 10. The table is now power rotated to thesteeply inclined position shown in FIG. 2. When this happens, the latch75 prevents the arm 60 rotating with the table 10 and thus rotates thehub 59 approximagely 90 with relation to the table 10 into the positionin which it' is shownin FIG. 2. This transmits a similar rotationthrough the pin 63 to the shaft 56 which rotation is transmitted throughthe beveled gears 57 and 46 to the peg control shaft 43 so as to rotatethis approximately 90 from the position in which it is shown in FIG. 8to the position in which it is shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, thereby extendingthe retractable pegs29 as shown in these figures and in FIG. 2 inreadiness to receive a glass sheet 26 for the next operation of thetable 10.

When the table 10 is inclined upwardly as shown in broken lines in FIG.9 and in full lines in FIGS. 1, 2, 4 and 7, and a sheet of glass 26 islowered into place so that the lower edge of the sheet will rest on thepegs 29 as shown in FIG. 7, the entire weight of this sheet is borne bythe engagement of this edge with the rubber cushion 40 provided on theupper faces of these pegs. As the table 10 is now rocked about about thehinges 13 to bring the table into horizontal position as shown in fulllines in FIG. 9, the control latch 75 causes a reverse rotation of thearm 60 and hub 59 through an angle of approximately as shown bycomparison of the views of FIGS. 2 and 3. In this rotation the hub 59 isturning in a counterclockwise direction as seen in FIG. 5 and instead ofpositively turning the shaft 56 as is the case when the table turns fromhorizontal to upwardly inclined position, the effect of this rotation onthe hub 59 in a counterclockwise direction is to apply only the torqueof the coil spring 72 to the shaft 56 and this torque is transmittedthrough the shaft 56 and gears 57 and 46 to the peg control shaft 43 andthence to the pegs 29 which are still in frictional engagement with theadjacent edge of the glass plate 26. The pressure thus applied throughthe spring 72 to the pegs 29 increases gradually as the table isrotating towards its horizontal position until, when the weight of theglass sheet 26 has been transferred almost entirely to the. table 10,the friction between the rubber cushions 40 of the pegs 29 and theadjacent edge of the glass sheet 26 is reduced to the point where thepegs 29 are able to yield to the pressure of said spring and retractbeneath the upper surface of the table, which motion returns the pin 63into contact with the left end of the slot 61 as shown in FIG. 5.

I claim: l. A power actuated plate glass cutters table comprising:

a relatively large rectangular flat table having a relativelynon-abrasive upper surface; means for rocking said table while a sheetof glass is resting by gravity flat against said table, between a glasssheet receiving position in which said table is inclined slightly awayfrom vertical, and a horizontal position for the performance of aglass-sheetcutting operation with said table and sheet disposedhorizontally; plural peg means mounted on said table along the edgethereof which is disposed downwardly when said table is in glass sheetreceiving position and for supporting said sheet when delivered to saidtable, a mechanism for simultaneously retracting said plural peg meansbeneath the surface of said table after said table has received a sheetof glass resting on said peg means and been rocked into horizontalposition whereby the weight of said sheet of glass has been transferredfrom said peg means to said table; said peg means including a series ofhorizontally aligned pegs pivotally rockable on said table in a commonplane disposed at right angles to the surface of said table; and amanually operable means linking together said pegs for optionallyshifting said pegs between retracted and extended position.

2. A table as recited in claim 1 wherein;

said peg means actuating mechanism is automatically responsive to therocking of said table from horizontal to upwardly inclined position toextend said peg means above the surface of said table in readiness toreceive a sheet of glass delivered onto said peg means and is likewiseresponsive to the rocking of said table from upwardly tilted position tohorizontal position to retract said peg means below the upper surface ofsaid table.

3. A table as recited in claim 2 wherein means is provided fordisconnecting said automatic peg means retracting mechanism; and 7manual means for retracting and extending said peg means when saidautomatic means is disconnected 4. A table as recited in claim2'wherein:

said table is provided with an air flotation system delivering airbetween said table and a sheet of glass resting thereon therebyrelieving said sheet from frictional engagement with said peg means whensaid sheet and table have been rocked from an upwardly inclined positioninto a horizontal position, thereby facilitating the retraction of saidpeg means beneath the surface of said table.

5. A table as recited in claim 4 wherein:

said automatic mechanism for retracting said peg means when said tableis rocked into horizontal position includes spring biased means foraccomplishing the retraction of said peg means by a yieldable pressureso that said retraction is deferred until said sheet is supported bysaid air flotation means and is relatively free from frictionalengagement with said peg means.

1. A power actuated plate glass cutter''s table comprising: a relativelylarge rectangular flat table having a relatively non-abrasive uppersurface; means for rocking said table while a sheet of glass is restingby gravity flat against said table, between a glass sheet receivingposition in which said table is inclined slightly away from vertical,and a horizontal position for the performance of a glass-sheet-cuttingoperation with said table and sheet disposed horizontally; plural pegmeans mounted on said table along the edge thereof which is disposeddownwardly when said table is in glass sheet receiving position and forsupporting said sheet when delivered to said table, a mechanism forsimultaneously retracting said plural peg means beneath the surface ofsaid table after said table has received a sheet of glass resting onsaid peg means and been rocked into horizontal position whereby theweight of said sheet of glass has been transferred from said peg meansto said table; said peg means including a series of horizontally alignedpegs pivotally rockable on said table in a common plane disposed atright angles to the surface of said table; and a manually operable meanslinking together said pegs for optionally shifting said pegs betweenretracted and extended position.
 2. A table as recited in claim 1wherein; said peg means actuating mechanism is automatically responsiveto the rocking of said table from horizontal to upwardly inclinedposition to extend said peg means above the surface of said table inreadiness to receive a sheet of glass delivered onto said peg means andis likewise responsive to the rocking of said table from upwardly tiltedposition to horizontal position to retract said peg means below theupper surface of said table.
 3. A table as recited in claim 2 whereinmeans is provided for disconnecting said automatic peg means retractingmechanism; and manual means for retracting and extending said peg meanswhen said automatic means is disconnected.
 4. A table as recited inclaim 2 wherein: said table is provided with an air flotation systemdelivering air between said table and a sheet of glass resting thereonthereby relieving said sheet from frictional engagement with said pegmeans when said sheet and table have been rocked from an upwardlyinclined position into a horizontal position, thereby facilitating theretraction of said peg means beneath the surface of said table.
 5. Atable as recited in claim 4 wherein: said automatic mechanism forretracting said peg means when said table is rocked into horizontalposition includes spring biased means for accomplishing the retractionof said peg means by a yieldable pressure so that said retraction isdeferred until said sheet is supported by said air flotation means andis relatively free from frictional engagement with said peg means.